Author's Notes: - Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

The next chapter is in progress.

Enjoy

Ari walked into the small room she had been given making sure the door was closed. Tim and his friends had asked her to join them for dinner but she declined. She had something she needed to do before getting some rest. She quickly finished the sandwich she'd nabbed before letting out a long sigh.

"Shifu," she yelled to the empty room, "Get your ascended ass down here right now."

Silence answered her making Ari grimace even more.

"Little brother, if you don't I will rat you out to mom," she threatened.

Finally light filled the room fading into the form of her brother and Ari folded her arms staring at him.

"Hi," Shifu greeted her sheepishly.

Ari glared at him, "You are going to tell me, right now, what the hell is going on? Why did you set up Ford to find the box? Why did you make sure I came here?"

Shifu took a deep breath, "I cannot tell you."

"I can find a way to hurt you," Ari told him annoyed, "Uncle Ranon will help me."

"Ari," Shifu said softly, "I cannot interfere."

"You already have," she snapped.

He shook his head, "I didn't set up Commander Ford to find the box. I just ensured he did not miss it."

Ari pushed her hand through her hair, "Why?"

"Because there is a secret that needs to be discovered, " he told her before defending himself, "I cannot tell you what it is but you are the only one who will be able to unveil it."

"You know this is interfering," Ari cried annoyed.

He gave a slight shrug, "Because it is you I can bend the rules to tell you as much as I have. Ari, I am sorry I did not expect you to be stranded."

"And I'm guessing you can't let Mom know so she can send a ship for us," she grimaced, shaking her head she sighed; "You owe me."

He gave another small shrug before leaving her alone once more. With a sigh Ari slid her shoes off before lying on the bed, closing her eyes to try and rest for a few hours.

x

Wendy took a drink before she sat in front of her computer and logged on. Nathan had advised they were about an hour from the mainland so she was using the time to look into the strange headaches the crew were having. She didn't like that she wasn't able to help her people and was confused why O'Neill appeared to be immune to them.

A knock made her look round finding their guest standing there.

"Dr Jackson? Is there something I can do for you?" Wendy asked softly.

"Captain Bridger said you were looking into the headaches," she said, "I was hoping I could help."

Wendy looked at her confused, "Is medicine one of your specialities, Dr?"

"I've spent enough time looking at brain scans; every few missions through the Stargate seem to need them. And please call me Ari," the young woman shrugged slightly, "Dr Jackson is my father and I keep expecting him to appear when people call me that."

"Of course, Ari," Wendy nodded in understanding, "I'm Wendy, grab a seat."

Bringing up the scans she had been studying Wendy was surprised when Ari clicked her tongue in thought about twenty minutes later.

"What?"

Ari grabbed a pen, "Here," she pointed to a small part of the scan, "What is this in the corner of the scan?"

Wendy magnified the area, "It looks like scar tissue. That's interesting."

"Could that be why he doesn't have a headache?" Ari asked, "Could the scar tissue be blocking whatever is causing them?"

Wendy chewed her lip in thought, "It is possible. If the injury he suffered was traumatic enough it's possible his brain rewired itself to compensate."

"Okay, my dad always said to work through a problem from the beginning," Ari said tapping the pen against the desk, "So, we're both immune to whatever is causing these headaches, as is Dagwood and Tim. You're a telepath so your brain chemistry is different from non-telepaths. Dagwood is a GELF so the same."

"You're a telekinetic so I'm assuming that's why you're immune," Wendy took over.

Ari gave a half-nod, half-shrug in reply not giving away anything before she jumped up to pace, "So, we're in a closed community."

"All food and water is brought on board during supply runs. The last one was three weeks ago," Wendy took over, "And we have all eaten the same."

"Besides I don't see food causing these headaches," Ari replied, "What else?"

Wendy thought for a moment, "Chemicals? The box could have released something into the air."

"Don't see how our gifts would make us immune to that," Ari sighed frustrated.

Wendy grimaced as well before asking, "You said something about whales earlier?"

Ari noted before she clicked her fingers, "A sound."

Wendy looked at her sceptically, "A sound?"

"I remember a story from the early days Stargate Command." Ari nodded, before falling into silence as she mused.

Wendy watched the young woman pace for several minutes before demanding, "And?"

Ari took her seat again, "It was a planet that was being surveyed using a UAV, a plane like drone that surveys the area. It crashed into some weird plants a few hours from the Gate. So my dad and his team had to find it. Cutting a very long story short the plants had a symbiotic relationship with the inhabitants and when the drone crashed into the plants it changed the sound emitted so it made the inhabitants sick but gave my dad and his team all a severe headache."

"So we could be processing the sound differently and it might be affecting Dagwood in a different way," Wendy noted, "But that doesn't make sense for O'Neill. Tim has incredibly acute hearing."

"But if this is similar then it's something that's not in the actual range where a human can hear it," Ari reminded her, "What if the scar tissue is somehow protecting him?"

Before either could say anymore they were called to the bridge, they'd reached the mainland.

Sha're walked through the corridors of Atlantis to find her husband. It wasn't hard. Even if she couldn't sense him, Sha're knew everywhere in the city he went to think.

It only took her a few minutes for her reach him, leaning on the railing looking out across the water. The small red ball he used to exercise his own abilities was bouncing gently in front of him.

"Dan'iel," she said softly making him turn to her, "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "I can't concentrate on work."

Sha're wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know you said she's safe," Daniel sighed into his wife's hair, "But I just…"

"What?" she encouraged when he trailed off.

Daniel sighed again, "Before…before…"

"Before I came back," Sha're stated for him, as always not afraid to speak about their past.

"Ari was so much stronger," Daniel continued pulling her close, "She could find me no matter where I was, even on another planet."

"I know."

"After everything happened," Daniel sighed, snatching the ball from the air suddenly, "It was better that her abilities lessened, that she was no longer that strong. It made her happier but right now I would give anything for her to be able to tell me she's alright and the people she was with will keep her safe."

Sha're took his hand, "Come with me."

Confused Daniel let her pull him along the corridors, "Why are we going to the infirmary?"

Sha're said nothing but continued to move him through the city. Reaching their destination Sha're headed through to the small office at the back where the newest member of the medical staff was working.

"Sha're," the other woman greeted with smile, Daniel instantly noted her English accent, "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to introduce my husband to you," Sha're smiled back, "Dan'iel, this is Dr Kristen Westphalen who was previously the CMO of the Seaquest."

x

"It's a pleasure to meet you finally, Daniel," Kristen offered her hand to the man, "Sha're has told me so much about you."

"And you," he replied shaking her hand.

Sha're took a seat, "Kristen, our daughter is currently on the Seaquest which is missing. Can you tell us about the crew?"

Kristen sat down again as Daniel slipped his hand into his wife's looking at her hopefully.

"They're good people," Kristen assured the couple, "Nathan Bridger looks after his crew as though they were his family. Your daughter will be folded into that," she saw Daniel relax slightly at her assurance, "The crew, the ones I knew who are still onboard, they're the best there is."

"With the exception of the Stargate program," Daniel chuckled before giving her a grateful smile, "Thank you."

Sha're turned to her husband, "You wanted to look into the Lantean scientist whose lab you found last week. Start now. Brooding will not help Arianna."

"Fine," Daniel gave in. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss before leaving them alone.

"Thank you, Kristen," Sha're said taking her seat again once Daniel was gone, "He needed to hear that, we both did."

"The Seaquest crew may be able to find trouble easily but they're good at getting out of it," Kristen told her before changing the subject, "Have you told him about our conversation yesterday?"

Sha're shook her head, "I was going to do so tonight. It is our 'date night' but until we are sure Arianna is safe I do not think it is a good idea to discuss it with him."

Kristen nodded in understanding.

"I must go," Sha're told her, "I have work to do."

As the other woman walked out Kristen sat back and thought of the people on the Seaquest, she hadn't seen them since a few days after the original had exploded. She did miss them and had hoped to return when the new boat was launched. Unfortunately her work had been at a critical stage and she wasn't able to leave it. Then the offer had arrived from the SGC leading her to Atlantis. The moment she set foot in the city she had loved it and wished she could share it with Nathan and Lucas.

With a sigh she returned to work.

Nathan looked up as Wendy walked onto the bridge with Dr Jackson.

"We've found land?" Wendy asked when they reached him.

Nathan nodded, "We think we may actually be able to surface. Look at this," he brought up the pictures the WSKRS had supplied of what appeared to be a dock.

"Will it hold the Seaquest?" Wendy asked seeing the structure on the screen.

"More than likely," Jackson spoke up, "From what I can tell it's the same architectural design of Atlantis and that is quite a few thousand years old but going strong."

"I think we'll do some tests before trying," Nathan told her.

Jackson gave an amused shrug but said nothing else.

"Did you make any progress with the headaches?" Jonathan asked joining them.

"We have an idea," Wendy told him, "Dr Jackson and I believe there may be a sound outside our hearing range that is causing them."

"I need to look at the box again," Jackson spoke up, "If I can finish the translation it may give us some idea what's going on."

"But we quarantined the box," Jonathan reminded her, "After what happened to Dr Ferguson and her team."

Jackson gave a slight half-shrug, "I know but I can shield myself. It's how Tim and I were protected when they first opened it."

Nathan nodded, "Okay."

"Okay?" surprise filled the young woman's eyes.

Nathan smiled slightly, "This is what you do, so we may as well do your job."

She stared at him before nodding, "Okay. I'll let you know when I find something."

"What?" he asked Jonathan and Wendy when they both stared at him.

Wendy chuckled, "You've changed your mind about her?"

"Not completely," he replied, "I'm just using my resources to get my people home."

x

Ari stood just outside the quarantine where the box sat taking a few deep breaths. She hoped this had the instructions she needed.

"Okay, you can do this," she murmured to herself before taking the red ball out of her pocket, squeezing it in her hand a few times before tossing it into the air and moving it in a smooth arc above her head. It was one of her father's training exercises and she used it these days to help focus her mind when she was worried or nervous.

Tapping in the code so she could enter the quarantine chamber Ari steeled herself, surprised that there was no need for her shield. Ari slowly walked around to look at all sides of the box to get a proper idea of the artefact she was studying.

Pulling out her notebook Ari started to scribble jumping when someone knocked on the window.

"Tim?"

"I thought you might want the notes we both made earlier," he told her.

Ari smiled, "Thanks. You're safe to come in by the way."

"Are you sure?" suspicion filled his voice.

She chuckled, "I am trustworthy, I stopped you becoming a statue the first time remember?"

Tim smiled before stepping inside, a little hesitantly she could tell, and walking over to Ari's side.

"Wow," he murmured.

"Amazing isn't it?" Ari asked with a grin, "This is going to take a few hours to translate properly."

"Between us we have most of the surface done," Tim reminded her.

Ari winced, "True but now the box is open it actually changes what the surface says."

"Really?"

"Also, I can see sections that were missed when they took the photos," Ari told him, "Which explains why we missed the warning about what would happen when they opened the box without the proper codes inputted."

"A booby trap?"

Ari nodded, "I'm hoping, assuming this works the way it was intended to, we can un-statue them."